Rossiya Airlines operated the first flight within the framework of the tourist flight programme to Saint Petersburg.

On September 28, Rossiya Airlines, together with its travel partner Biblio-Globus, launched an extensive programme of direct flights from the regions to Saint Petersburg. The pilot-project is implemented with the support of the Committee for Tourism Development of Saint Petersburg Tourism. The first Rossiya’s flight of the new programme arrived at Pulkovo from Moscow at 10:30 – the load was close to 100%. The second flight to the Northern Capital will depart from Yekaterinburg at 17:20.

Flights under the new programme will be operated daily from Moscow, three times a week from Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Samara and twice a week from Perm. All flights are operated on Boeing 737-800 in a single-class layout designed to carry 189 passengers.

The carrier is planning to transport more than 8 000 passengers within the framework of the tourist programme until the end of October.

As the largest carrier of the North-West, Rossiya pays special attention to increasing tourist passenger traffic. In conditions of limited international air traffic, the company makes every effort to achieve that both by creating an extensive route network that allows residents of the Northern Capital to choose new travel destinations, and by performing direct tourist flights to Saint Petersburg.

For the first time, a joint product of the base carrier of Pulkovo and the largest tour-operator of the country became available as part of a package offer formed based on flights, transfers, accommodation and excursion support. According to the preliminary assessment of the tour-operator, the programme will further increase the internal tourist flow to Saint Petersburg by 400 000 people per year.

The tourism industry makes a significant contribution to the economy of Saint Petersburg, as well as creates new employment positions. According to the Committee for Tourism Development, in 2019 alone, up to 500 thousand people (9,5% of the total population of the city) were involved in the hospitality industry and related industries during the high season, and the total contribution to the budget of Saint Petersburg amounted to 378,6 billion rubles. Moreover, 10,4 million tourists visited Saint Petersburg in 2019, that is 26,8% higher than in 2018.